Swaim, David Gaskill, 1834-1897

David G. Swaim was a captain in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving as assistant adjutant general and chief of the secret service during the Chickamauga Campaign under Brigadier General James A. Garfield. He reentered the army in 1867 as a second lieutenant, serving as acting judge advocate for the fourth military district in Vicksburg, Miss. From 1868-1869, he supervised the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. As a Major, he presided as judge advocate at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was appointed Judge Advocate General of the United States Army in 1880, holding this position until 1895. Swaim maintained a close personal friendship with Garfield and was at his side in 1881 at the President's death.

From the description of David G. Swaim letters, 1861-1874. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 17842921

From the description of David G. Swaim letters, 1861-1874 [microform]. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 45048552

David Gaskill Swaim (1834-1897) was a captain in the Union Army, serving as assistant adjutant-general and chief of the secret service during the Chickamauga Campaign under Brigadier General James A.Garfield (1831-1881). Swaim maintained a close personal friendship with Garfield and was by President Garfield's bedside at Elberon, New Jersey, on September 19, 1881, when he heard Garfield's dying words, "O Swaim, this pain!"

In 1866 Swaim was mustered out of the army. He reentered the army as a second lieutenant in 1867, serving as acting judge advocate for the fourth military district in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In 1868 Brevet Major Swaim, aide-de-camp to General Howard, supervised the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands until October 1869. Promoted to Major, Swaim joined the corps of judge advocates where he presided as judge advocate at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Senator-elect Garfield persuaded President Rutherford B. Hayes to appoint Swaim Judge Advocate General of the United States Army in 1880. Brigadier General Swaim would hold this position from February 18, 1881, to January 3, 1895, despite his having been court martialed February 24, 1885.

Swaim married Jemima (Jennie) Bell. They had one child, daughter Mary Bell (Mamie) Swaim, born in the summer of 1870. Mary Bell Swaim and Lewis Low Thompson married on March 20, 1897, shortly before Brigadier General Swaim's death. The Thompsons had a daughter, Virgina Swaim Thompson, born in 1905.

From the guide to the David G. Swaim Letters, 1861-1874, (Western Reserve Historical Society)